Apparatus for raising sand



ALEXANDER McDoUGAL-L, or DULUTII, MINNESOTA. Y

APPARATUS FOR RAlsiNc SAND.

i SPECIQFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 469,841, datedMarch 1, 189.2.

- dpplicationiiled March-3, 1891. Serial No. 383,563- (No model.)

' .ToaZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known Ythat I, ALEXANDER MCDOU- GALL, a citizen ofthe United States, residing -`at Duluth, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Apparatus for Raising Sand, ctc.; and I do hereby declare the following to beat-ull, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others r6 skilled in the art to which v1t appertains to make and use the same. My present invention relates to an im proved device for'd-redging the bottoms of rivers or harbors, or for removing sand, earth, &c.,'from positions under water, or for boring holes for -piles'and stakes under water.

The principal object ot'v my present .invention is tol provide a device for the abovepurposes, which can be operated in any positions 'under water and may kbe readily changed from one position to another,since the boring or disintegrating tool is'exi'bly connected to the source of power.

` Another object of my present invention is to provide a device for the purposes explained,

Whereinthe use of shafting or other mechanical means connecting the source of power with the boring-tool is dispensed with.

A still further objectofmy invention is to provide a device for the purposesj ust set out, wherein the boring-tool is so connected with the source of power that if a rock or other\ obstruction is encountered the boring-tool ll not'be broken but will'come to rest, al-

` gh the engine or other source of power il' l, lontinue to operate.

The principal novelties in my present in- "fvention consist of a exible` or other pipe l vadapted to' be passed over the side of the dredging-Vessel or to be lowered into position from a dock or other vstructure adjacent to the water; a metallic cylindrical casing at .device, and a pump or equivalent connected tothe upper end of said pipe, all adapted to 'operate and coact together, as will be more f'tilljlffdescribed, and embodied in the claims.

` @Fol-2.a better comprehension of my present invention attention is directed to the accon1.

panying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in whichvFigure 1 is a side View ofnnyinvention,

Fig. 3, an enlarged sectional View of another form of boring-tool, showing a propeller for operating the same.

In all of the above views corresponding parts are designated by identical vletters of reference.

In-Fig. 1 I have illustrated myilnproved device las being operated from a vessel A, which may be of any suitable construction or design; but it should be understood that the device may be `operated just as conveniently from a dock or other structure adjacent to the wateror from a pointany distance inland. B is the pipebefore referred to, which is passed over the side of the vessel A, as shown in Fig. 1, so that its lower end will be near 'the place'to be operated on. The pipe B is preferably a iiexible pipe, made either of `some yielding material-such asrubber or \waterproof fabric-or it may be a metal pipe having suit-able Vjoints therein, so as to be flexible. It should be understood, however, thatthe pipe B may be a rigid pipe. C is a cylindrical casing made, preferably, of metal 'and rigidly secured to the lower end of the pipeB by any suitable means. This casing C is made'somewhat-.larger than the pipe B; but as a portion of its interio is occupied by the worm or equivalent and the shaft therefor the space within the casing C for the passage of the sand, earth, dsc., is about the same as the pipe B. At the upper and lower portions of the casing are the spider-arms a d, which are secured in position in anyappropriate way, or, instead, these spider-arms may be made integral with the casing. In Fig. 2 the'spider arm or arms at the lower portion ofv the casing are secured Ito a rim b, which is held in place by means of bolts or screws, soas to beremovable. One or more spider-arms may be used at the-upper and lower ends of the casing,.or the yequivalents thereof `may be substituted. At the central part of the spider-arms a a is formed a bearing c, vwhich may be of the same .material as the spider-arms, or, instead, it may be ofsome anti-friction metal secured in place. D is a IOO shaft vertically mounted within the bearings c, so as to be easilyl rotatable. This shaft is provided near its upper end with a shoulder d, which abuts against the upper bearings, 5 and at its other end with ashoulder e, which rests upon the lowerbearings, so that the shaft -will be securely held from moving laterally. 4This construction, which is illustrated in Fig. 2,|is applicable only when the ro -lower or upper spider-arms are removable, as will jbe understood. When the spider-arms are `-m'ade integral with the casing C, a removable collar f may be used instead of the shoulder e, as shown in Fig. 3.v Rigidl-y secured to the shaft D is a worm E of. ordinary construction. When a slow motion of the boring-tool is desired, this worm is made with a very slight pitch, and vice versa. The worm E fits snugly within the casing C, so zo that when the water and sand or earth passes up through the same the worm will be revolved either rapidly or slowly, according to its pitch.

In Fig. 3 Lhave shown a propeller or screw 2 5 wheel'F secured to the aft D instead of the worm E. The`operaif= f this propeller F is the same as th: .ne worm; but it has the advantage of occupying less space than a worm, althougnthe expense of a propeller 3e or screw wheel would be greater than that of a worm. The pitch of the propeller or screw wheel may also be changed, so as to obtain different speed. f

instead of either a worm or a propeller or 3 5 screw wheel, other mechanical constructionsv may be substituted; and I would have it un-l derstood that it is the intent of this specification to include as equivalents thereof all constructions of devices which will beoper- 4o lated by the passage of the water and sand through the casing.

At the lower end of the shaft Da boringtool G is rigidly secured. The form of boring-tool shown in Fig. 2 is like a large-sized burr, the construction of which is well-known to mechanics, and hence this form need not be described here. The form of boring-tool shown in Fig. 3ds the form which I prefer to use on account of its cheapness and effective# 5o ness inv operation. It consists simply of a circular plateof metal g, as shown inthe lower view of Fig. 3. 'Cut out from this metal plate are depending lips h, which are preferably cut at an angle, as shown, so as to form cuttingedges. It will be evident that by means of this form of boring-tool the sand, earth, &c., will be cut so as to pass directly into the mouth of the casing C, whereas" in the construction of tool shown in Fig. 2 the material 6o is thrown to one side 'and' has to pass over the top of the burr into the mouth of the casing. The preferred form of boring-tool will feed itself into the substance to be cut, which will not be the case with the construction illustrated in Fig. 2. Although I intend to embody this preferred form of boring-tool in my' claims, ,it must not 'be understood that I restrict myself to this particular form,for any kind of boring-tool may be used in connection with the other elements of my improved device.

At or near the upper end of the pipe Bjis a pump H, or its equivalent, which is used for pumping the water and sand or earthv up through lthe casing and pipe. The preferable form of pump forl this purpose is a centrifugal pump; but Ido not wish to be limited to such. The pump H is placed on the vessel A or the doek or other structure, or it may be placed any distance inland, and it is adapted to be operated by any suitable source of power.

The operation of my device, which will be readily understood, is as follows: The pipe B and casing C are louered, so that the boringtool will rest on the substance to be removed. The pump H is now started and'water will first be drawn up through the casing C and pipe B. As this water passes through the easing C, it will cause the worm or propeller to revolve, as will he understood, and the boring-tool G will be 4rotated either fast or slow, accordingb to the pitch of the worm or propeller. The boring-tool will cutzinto and loosenthe substance, which will be drawn-up through the casing and pipe by the suction and the worm or propeller will therefore tend to work as long as there is material and water passing through the casing. After the water, with the sand or earth, leaves the pump H it may be disposed of in any ordinary way. In case the boring-tool strikes a rock or other obstruction its motion will be arrested without breaking the same, and the rotation-of the worm or propeller will cease, although a pressure will be brought thereon which will tend to turn the boring-tool. This state of things will be observed at' the pump by the presence IOO of little or no sand or earth in the water, and

the pipe B can then be raised and thc boringtool allowed to operate at some .other point.

My improved device can be used in'boring holes for piles, &c., under water by allowing the boring-toolV to operate vertically downward at the particular. place desired; but in the boring of Vholes I prefer to force water down through the pipe B, so as to reverse the actions I have just described, and this featu-re willbe embodied in lanother application. Having now described my invention, what I claim as new therein, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is asfollowsz In a devicefor-the purposes mentioned,the

'IIC

combination -of a pipe, a casing C at the lower end of the same and of larger diameter than the pipe, a wormV or equivalent within said. casing, a boring-tool connected with said worm orv equivalent, and a pump or equiva-` lent for creating a circulation of water within said pipe, substantially as set forth.

, ALEXANDER MCDOUGALL. -In presence-of- M. J. MULLIN, GHAs. W. vLanarte. 

